The revamp also filled several vacancies after a key ally opposed to recent economic reforms quit the coalition.

Gandhi influence

Narayanan Madhavan of the Hindustan Times told Al Jazeera that Sonia Gandhi in her capacity as president of the Congress Party had a big say in the appointments.

"Sonia Gandhi has put her people in place, Gandhi is involved as she is president of the ruling party, she has influence over the prime minister, Manmohan Singh," said Madhaven.

However, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Sonia's son, was not part of the new cabinet.

Party leaders said Rahul would concentrate on reviving the fortunes of the party before the general election.

A scion of India's politically powerful Nehru-Gandhi family, Gandhi is the son and grandson of two prime ministers.

He is often known as India's prime minister-in-waiting, but so far has held no government positions.

Singh's government has been hit by charges of corruption and lethargy, even with provincial elections due in 11 states in the coming year.

Several ministers are facing corruption charges stemming from scandals over the hosting of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the sale of mobile phone rights and the allocation of coal fields that auditors say lost the country of billions of dollars.